The Power of 30 Minutes

 During the summer, I always have these grand plans about things I'm going to get caught up on in my house and in the yard. However, I run into the problem of balance. If I spend too much time cleaning and doing yard work, I start to feel like I'm getting ripped off. If I don't do it, I feel like I'm wasting all this extra time I have. 

A number of years ago I decided I would do a load of laundry every day. It changed everything when it comes to laundry. I still do it religiously every single day. The loads are never very big, which makes it easy to wash and dry and put away each day. Sometimes I even have to look for things that I should wash - but not that often. Bedding, towels, etc make up the lulls in empty baskets. The nice thing about it is that I never have baskets and baskets of laundry to fold and put away and I never have piles of laundry sorted on the floor waiting to be washed. It's just become a quick and easy thing that gets taken care of each day. 

I decided to implement this strategy for my housework and yard-work goals this summer. I committed to 30 minutes a day for each. It's amazing how much gets accomplished in 30 minutes! This morning was a great example. I have mostly been working in the front yard but now things are mostly caught up and it's hard to find 30 minutes of work to do each day so I decided I should venture into the back yard. It's been something I've stayed away from because we are working on building a new fence and a new deck and there is a lot going on back there. However, today I decided maybe what I should do is tidy up the pile of boards that have been left for a couple weeks from fence work. Imagine my surprise when it was all taken care of in only 7 minutes?! I went from this:

to this:

So then I had to figure out something to do for the last 20 minutes. See all those shoots around the lilac bush? I decided to get to work on them. It's amazing how much of that was taken care of in just 20 minutes! 

One of Gretchen Rubin's secrets of adulthood is that nothing is more exhausting than a task that is never started. That is so true! I looked at that pile for so many days and hated it....and it was so easy to look after! 

Engagement

 Jillian is engaged! This was her post on Facebook:

I wouldn’t have guessed when I met Chase at that post church grilled cheese party what the next year and a half had in store! But now, even more than cherishing the memories we’ve already made, I can’t wait to spend forever together!

We are super happy for them and excited to have Chase as a member of our family!

Renovations

 We have been doing a lot of work around our house. We got new lights on the outside. We got a new roof and 3 skylights (and what a difference they make! So much light!). We are in the midst of new windows (three new windows have been put in the master bedroom....not quite finished though) and today we had some major fence repairs done. It's a beautiful fence!

It's a great feeling to get some of these things done. So grateful for all the coordinating and hiring and work Allen is doing for it.

Old boards!

Beautiful new fence!

Employed!

 Peirce has had a number of interviews. Today he started his first full time job in the pharmacy industry! He is working at a place that supplies pharmacies....so if they need a compound, they make it. If they need some unusual drugs or combinations, they put them together. It's very exciting....and he loves it! 

Off for his first day!